Hello friends and family!
We are in the dead of winter up here in Canada. The snow has come in deep folds and drifts, our walks are short and brisk and I’m starting to dream of those warm summer nights just like everyone else! But we aren’t done with this season just yet, so I am sharing with you two of my favorite things that are bringing me through these cold days…
1. Journaling
Time is a sparse and fleeting thing around here while we homeschool our three children. But when I do have a quiet moment (or a chaotic one alongside my little artists!), I love spending time journaling. I try and capture my kids conversations, some of their favorite words of the day, and their imaginative play. Along with my own doodles and ideas forming with pen, pencil and my favorite Faber Castell markers, spending time with this sort of expression is beautifully freeing and grounding. It brings me right into the moment and I love that. Lately I’ve been enjoying creating little boxes of simple images and filling them with bold colors as you will see below. Sometimes I only have a block of five minutes before the next little one is needing attention, so this sort of simplistic documenting through art and journaling is great way to connect the dots of the day without having to devote an entire hour or two. Although I wish I had an extra hour to myself (or ten!), feeling like I’ve captured a little bit of our life together is rewarding.
2. Dancing
What better way to warm the body, mind and soul than by dancing through these winters days.
I have been dancing my whole life, having trained as a classical ballet dancer and later teaching as a second career. But when the babies started arriving, getting to the studio became harder to manage. But I’m so thrilled to announce that I am back at it! Two other local dance professionals and I have formed a new dance company called the Northumberland Contemporary Dance Collective. See and Like our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/NorthumberlandContemporaryDance
We meet weekly to rehearse and are slowly developing a repertoire that we are excited to share in our first performing gig this Valentine’s Day! (Insert shameless self-promotion). We will be performing a community inspired piece about the many facets of love called
Go Where The Love Is. It is part of the Green Wood Coalition’s Imaginate – An Evening of Possibilities. It will be a wonderful night of Ted-Talks inspired performances, music, interviews, local food and drink and dance! It is happening this Saturday evening at 7:30pm at Trinity College School in Port Hope. See the lovely poster and link below to purchase tickets for this wonderful community cause:
http://www.greenwoodcoalition.com/imaginate.html
Members of the Northumberland Contemporary Dance Collective during a radio interview.
NCDC rehearsing Go Where The Love Is
During rehearsal of Go Where The Love Is, NCDC using a small children’s table prop to represent
community dinners and how we can connect with each other through meals together.
Stay warm, stay in love and keep be in touch,